Caffe Barbie

Bypassing photography altogether, Amanda Bragg created this submission using the ultimate childhood craft supplies - colored paper and glue. The lazy swirl of steam rising from the mug in the foreground contrasts elegantly with the splayed plastic legs rising from the paper blender, whose own decorative swirls contrast with those rising from the mug. The seeming simplicity of this submission is belied by the artist's brilliantly, if subtly, ironic portrayal of childhood toys.

The Modern Dance

Mike Capone's second submission is a piece inspired by Pere Ubu's The Modern Dance, a 1978 album that some consider as one of the cornerstones of American indie rock. Keeping in theme with his other submission, The Modern Dance is a photographic piece that is as elegant as it is graceful and artistic. Two ballerina Barbies are intertwined in a blender, presumably to capture the kinetic energy of the blades so they can dance in everlasting embrace.

Salute to Freedom

Clearly not one for subtlety, this chilling image by Nicholas Bergson-Shilcock portrays a blonde and a brunette, mindless of their own danger, captivated by someone, or something, just beyond the border of Bergson-Shilcock's picture. The stark blank backdrop only makes more immediate the disconcertingly vapid, blue-eyed Barbie stare. But whose disciples these dolls are has been left somewhat ambiguous - or could these dolls really be that hypnotized by Creative Commons, whose button the blonde doll is wearing on her lapel?

Rip, Mix, Burn

The most elegant of this contest's submission, Nicholas Bergson-Shilcock's "Rip, Mix, Burn" gives us Barbie hair as framed by iPod earbuds. Barbie's perfect pose - looking off in the distance, but lazily so - radiates calmness and lulls the viewer into a pop culture-induced trance, chanting the techno-mantra, "Rip, Mix, Burn...Rip, Mix, Burn...". Well, not quite, but almost. Though this photo might not hypnotize you (Rip...Mix...Burn!), it certainly will make you think quite critically of the extent to which pop-culture signs have insinuated themselves into your world, whether that sign in the trademark baby-blue Barbie eyes, or the white cylinders of Apple's sound system.

Captain Jaclyn Sparrow

Is that a DJ setup behind Captain Jaclyn - or is that the control panel on a blender? Emily Dara Miller certainly has her finger on the "pulse" of our (not terribly free yet) culture, as evinced by this clever little photograph of Pirate Barbie making off with a CD-R like it's a piece of eight. And the exploitation of the "mix," "beat," and "blend" buttons on the blender is certainly unbelievably clever.

Barbie and RoboFido

Alan's photograph of Barbie sitting astride a robotic dog is one of the more amusing submissions we received. Barbie's Xena-inspired outfit is certainly a treat, and matches nicely with the sequined red bow in her teased hair.

Barbie Box, in Pink

A regular Houdini - or should that be Houdini's assistant? - Barbie poses alongside a pink magic box in this enchanting submission by Valerie. The kitschy pink box with its silhouette of Barbie's figure highlights her improbably molded measurements, while at the same time threatening to close in on her and trap her. Next stop, Vegas.

Addicted to Blending

Barbie rests her mutilated arm on the blender's power button in this deeply disturbing submission by Rebekah Baglini. The viewer is torn between horrified fascination with Barbie's destructive impulses, and pity for the poor doll, who here lies naked, clad only in a simple, mournful, black hair ribbon.

The Blender Will Set You Free

Camo Barbie stares up at Ken in this tableau by Molly Kiely, one of the few submissions to represent the curious dynamic between Barbie and her boy. Barbie's hauntingly intense gaze, Ken's frazzled hair, and the splayed carnage behind them both makes this submission both stirring and memorable.